Rise & Shine: Democrats may not give de Blasio a free pass on mayoral control

A common refrain in the special education world is that navigating the bureaucracy of services, evaluations, and learning plans can itself be a full time job for parents. So it came as a surprise that state officials are quietly ending contracts with a group of organizations that act as a help desk for special ed services across the state.

These Early Childhood Direction Centers and Special Education Parent Centers have become a lifeline, parents say — a rare setup where a knowledgable person is easy to reach by phone. And while the centers will be replaced by new ones, they will have fewer staff and will be less focused on taking calls from parents, though state officials say the new centers will continue to be a resource for families.

Also in state policy news, the Regents are meeting today and are expected to discuss student privacy regulations and whether state test scores should be reflected on student transcripts. Finally, check out a first person piece written by a white mother who explains why she chose a high-need and predominantly black and Latinx school for her daughter.

—Alex Zimmerman, reporter

‘GUT PUNCH’ State officials are ending contracts with a slew of organizations that help families navigate special education services, a move that has caused outcry from parents and advocates. Chalkbeat

FIRST PERSON A white Brooklyn parent explains why she chose a high poverty, mostly black and Latinx school for her daughter. Chalkbeat

REGENTS PREVIEW In their first meeting of the year, the Regents are set to discuss student data privacy regulations and extending a rule to keep state test scores off of student transcripts. Chalkbeat

PROTEST PREP Teachers in the nation’s second-largest school district are set to go on strike today. Here’s what you need to know. Chalkbeat

MAYORAL CONTROL “I absolutely don’t think mayoral control should be extended, as is, indefinitely,” state Sen. John Liu, the chairman of the Senate’s New York City Education Subcommittee, told the Daily News.

The New York City Education Subcommittee will get the status of a full committee. City & State

SUPE SWAP The superintendent of the education department’s Office of Adult and Continuing Education has been reassigned. NY Post

LGBTQ SURVEY Ninety percent of sexual minority students across New York said they regularly heard hostile slurs in school but often don’t report such incidents to administrators, according to the Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network. NY Post

NEW LAWS City council passed a suite of measures to reform the city’s yellow bus system — including GPS tracking — after a series of transit disasters earlier this school year. NY Daily News

MURAL MEMORIAL A mural of comic book legend Stan Lee went up at his alma mater, DeWitt Clinton High School, in the Bronx. NY Daily News, NY1

STAFF SHAKEUP Some education department staffers are concerned about Chancellor Richard Carranza’s overhaul of the office that oversees English learners. NY Daily News

THREAT RESPONSE Parents are upset that the principal at JHS 167 Robert F. Wagner did not communicate clearly about a student’s apparent threat to bring guns to school. NY Post

SCHOOL SUIT A middle school teacher who was fired after allegedly walking on students’ backs during a lesson on slavery is suing the city — and the Daily News — for discrimination, defamation, and “loss of reputation.” Newsday, NY1, Yahoo News

3-K FOR ALL Mayor Bill de Blasio said 3-K will roll out to Staten Island next fall. Staten Island Advance

STATE OF THE CITY Editorial: Mayor Bill de Blasio’s call to redistribute more wealth would create underinvestment in public resources like schools and parks. Wall Street Journal